Rebels (pictured) have gained control of much of Eastern Libya, and the U.S. is reportedly concerned that Moammar Gadhafi would deploy chemical weapons on them before letting Tripoli fall. Getty

February 25, 2011

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As rebels gain ground in Libya, the U.S. is worried that Moammar Gadhafi might use his stockpiles of mustard gas and other chemical weapons in a last-ditch effort to quell the revolt. "When you have a guy who's as irrational as Gadhafi with some serious weapons at his disposal, it's always a concern," an unnamed American official told The Wall Street Journal. Would Gadhafi really gas his own people?

Gadhafi is capable of anything: There's really nothing, it seems, that the desperate Libyan leader wouldn't do to stay in power, says Allahpundit at Hot Air. His loyalists have already reportedly fired anti-aircraft guns at a mosque in which protesters were sheltering, and unleashed helicopter gunships on opposition crowds. It's easy to imagine a gas attack as "some insane grand farewell gesture.""Gadhafi mercenaries shooting victims in hospitals?"